Zeus
Zeus is a major character in Disney's 1997 animated feature film, Hercules. He is the ruler of Mount Olympus, with the power to control thunder and lightning. He is also father to Hercules, who—under Zeus's guidance—would become the greatest hero in all of Greece. Zeus is jovial and carefree, which makes him a beloved figure amongst his godlycolleagues, with the exception of his evil younger brother Hades. He is voiced by Corey Burton. Background Zeus is the son of the Titan King Kronos. Based on an offhand remark by Zeus, Kronos feared Zeus might one day overthrow him so he tried to eat him. Following mythology, his mother hid him away until Zeus was old enough to challenge his father and banish him. Many eons ago (prior to the movie) Zeus imprisoned the deadly Titans, who threatened to destroy the world, deep beneath the ocean where they would remain for the rest of eternity undisturbed. However, he was unaware that the next planetary alignment would reveal the location of the Titan's prison, and his brother Hades planned to free them by the next alignment so he could use them to help him overthrow Zeus and take over Mount Olympus. Personality Zeus prefers to keep things easy going and is often seen with a large smile and making witty remarks on things. He also has a tendency to be quite stubborn, and at times even childish when faced with a task he would rather not perform. Zeus' antics are often reigned in by his wife Hera, whom he immediately relents to. Aside from this, Zeus is a worthy ruler, wise and extremely fierce when necessary. This quality makes him a respected king with the combination of fun but maturity when needed. He's protective of Hercules as seen throughout the series. Despite his joviality, Zeus unfortunately created his own worst enemy in his brother Hades. Zeus often makes fun of his brother and belittles him with jokes. While Zeus' behavior is intended as playful at most, it has nonetheless inspired a great deal of contempt within the God of the Underworld, and is in no short part of what motivates his efforts to take over Olympus. Zeus does seem to be aware of Hades' attempted overthrows but apparently seems to forgive, or downright forget them relatively quickly. Physical Appearance Zeus has orange skin, a stocky muscular body, long white hair, and a long white beard. Like his son, Zeus has blue eyes. He wears a dark purple chiton with a lavender border, which is held by a round gold pin which displays a thundercloud on it. In the film, he is constantly surrounded by a blinding aura. In the short time he turned himself mortal, Zeus youthened himself into a teenager, during which he had a skinny but muscular build, long chocolate-brown hair and no beard. Despite this change, Zeus retained his original voice. Powers and abilities As an Olympian God, Zeus possesses the natural powers and abilities of an Olympian God such as omnipotence, immortality, omnipresence, omniscience, superhuman strength, metamorphosis, and teleportation. In the Herculesfilm and TV series, he displays a wide range of magical abilities, such as life-giving to objects or giving supernatural powers to who don't possess it. As the God of the Sky, Zeus rules the sky, thus he has control over the weather and is responsible for creating storms. His control over storms is notably prominent whenever he loses his temper, where he instinctively summons thunder and lightning when angered. Terra Monsters Trivia To see the trivia, click here * In the movie, Zeus and his wife Hera are Hercules' birth parents, but in the actual myth, Zeus is his birth father, and Alcmene, a mortal woman who was seduced by Zeus, is his birth mother, prompting Hera to punish Hercules through his life as revenge for him Zeus betraying her. ** In the movie, Alcmene and her husband, Amphitryon are Hercules' adopted parents. * In Greek Mythology, Zeus is the youngest brother of the trio of himself, Poseidon and Hades, but in the Animated Series, he is the oldest with Hades as the youngest. ** Zeus is in fact related to every Greek God either by blood or by marriage in actual Greek Mythology, although the Disney version is only related to Poseidon and Hades by blood. * Zeus' Roman counterpart is named Jupiter, which is also the name of the 5th planet from the Sun and the Solar System's largest planet. ** This was referenced in "Hercules and the Romans". * He is the Air Terra Monster gym leader. Category:Characters Category:Males Category:Parents Category:Uncles Category:Kings Category:Grown-ups Category:Heroes Category:Lovers Category:Magical Characters Category:Terra Ranchers Category:Siblings Category:Brothers